Lena

As a child, Laura desperately wanted a dog. We never thought it was possible - we lived overseas, and when we moved to the US, we lived in a house without a back yard. In 1997, our friends the Stalsbrotens adopted a guidedog. Laura wanted one too! We investigated, read books -and Terry one day confessed"Actually, I would really like to have a dog..."

So we applied with Patty Taylor, a puppy raiser for Guidedogs for the Blind, to adopt the yellow lab she was raising - if she failed to make the grade as a guidedog and became available for adoption. We had a home visit and interview, and were approved. And we waited. And Laura prayed for that dog.

One day in December of 1997, Patty called and asked to talk to Laura. "Do you want a dog?" she asked? Laura burst into tears. The next day, we met Lena. She was a gift from God, for Laura, for our family. For me.

She was Laura's friend, her doggy-girl They went to 4-H together, to the County Fair, won ribbons with their teamwork. She was mellow and not terribly smart. She made us laugh. She was well-behaved -except for one thing - she would eat everything that was accessible that was even remotely imagined to be edible. A ball of twine. Whole peaches with the pits. A half a bag of the neighbor dog's food. A chocolate cake. Two whole pounds of See's Candy. She was a familiar visitor to the vet's office. Yesterday she went there one last time, looked into my eyes for reassurance while Dr. Testerman gave her the injection, laid her head on her paw as she always did, and went to sleep.

I miss her. She was always so happy to see me, and I liked that. It was so strange and lonely to walk into the house and not have her greet me. She was a good dog and I give thanks to God for her.